Journeys of Don, Angie & Cookie 2008-07-24T09:00:31Z http://blog.donself.com/atom.aspx Quick Blog BABIES & WEDDING tag:blog.donself.com,2008-06-08:7d2dd175-57eb-413a-b8ce-e7d3979f2b23 Don Self 2008-06-09T00:07:28Z 2008-06-08T21:03:00Z
Wow - things have been happening in our family.  We've been back in Texas for about a month.   We made it back the day after Monika (our 1st grand-daughter) was born and she came out beautiful and has remained so, as you can see from photos we took today.

     

She is precious and doing fantastic.  Her brother, Dalton just loves his baby sister.  About a week and a half ago, we took Dalton to the zoo and we all had a fantastic time - in spite of having a downpour drench us.




On Friday evening (June 6), we had a wedding rehearsal for Joe and Crystal.   Here are a few photos from the rehearsal:








Apparently, he was the one she wanted, because she didn't back out or run away.  Of course, her mother was doing alot of praying (as you can see below) after all of the preparation and work that she and Crystal went through. 



Her prayers worked because on Saturday, the wedding took place at 7pm.  Prior to the wedding, the best "man" had to get dressed.  Jake was not comfortable wearing his hat, so he chose to leave it off when the ceremony started:



Yes - Jake was the best man in the ceremony.  The groom's brothers (Joe and David) were groomsmen, but Jake had the honor of having the first dance with the bride, as you can see here:



But, I had the honor of walking the mother of the groom, whom I married almost 29 years ago, down to the wedding:



So - the bride and the groom went through with it...

and Dalton was the happy ringbearer:



and Pastor John David Creamer pronounced them man and wife.



and Crystal Malcolm became Crystal Self.  In the past month, the Self Family has grown by 2 (Monika is not in this picture as she was with her grandma).   Below, we have (left to right):

Tiffany (Nick's wife), Dalton (3 years old), Nick, Angie, Crystal, Joe, myself, and David.   Now, we have 2 of them married, and David in college still - so we may have some time before another marriage.



On Monday, Joe and Crystal fly down to Cancun for a honeymoon.  

To make things even better, I was blessed that dad was with me and Angie through it all:



and before the night was over, I had the pleasure of dancing with my lovely wife, but by then, the light had faded, so we do not have any good photos - but here you can see us very happy.




On Monday afternoon, Angie and I will be blessed by having our grandchildren come over to visit and swim, so we are definitely having a great time back in Whitehouse.   We'll be in Texas for the rest of the month before heading towards Colorado in July.

I hope you like these photos and if so - let me know.  I only have about another 600 of them - but I don't think I have the time to put them all on here.    Don










]]> BACK IN WHITEHOUSE - GRANDBABYS AND WEDDINGS tag:blog.donself.com,2008-05-20:93630b9d-0fd0-4d90-8a29-aceeeff6a9e9 Don Self 2008-05-21T00:35:00Z 2008-05-20T18:35:00Z


She was born on the 10th and she and moma are healthy, although her mom and dad miss something they call sleep.  Her brother Dalton is very proud of her and was absolutely darling sitting there with her in his 3 year old lap reading her a story.

We're going to be in Texas for a little more than a month as we have a seminar in Austin on June 4th and then we have to return to Tyler for the wedding of our middle son, Joe and his bride-to-be, Crystal on June 7.

Since we have started offering 1 hour free phone conferences with primary care physicians around the country, we've been busy spending alot of time on the phone.  So far, our average primary care physician taking advantage of these free phone consults have seen an increase of more than $10,000 per month - so we don't have to travel as much.

On the last trip to Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas, we enjoyed doing a little fishing, as you can see here.


Also, since I've only flown the Cessna 182 once in the last 17 months, I've decided to turn it into a Club Plane and sell 1/10th shares to others for only $6,000 each, so that if you know anyone near Tyler, Texas wanting to fly - this is a great way to learn.  I used to be in a club with a 172, but this 182 is much nicer, more room, faster, etc...


The trip a couple of weeks ago over to Valley Forge where I spoke at the Pennsylvania Osteopathic convention was fantastic and we picked up quite a few new primary care physician clients wanting to increase income.  In fact, between that convention and the one I spoke at in Oklahoma, we've been picking up clients and we've gotten much more efficient at helping them.  Right now, alot of doctors are really afraid of what July 1st may bring, if Medicare does a 10% cut as is required by law unless Congress acts, so it's serving as an impetus for docs to look at what else they can do to help their patients and their profits.  The fact that we guarantee $125,000 increase in net profits in a year for primary care physicians have them calling us more than ever before.

Anyway - I'll try to post more often from now on since we're not travelling as much - but we still love living in our RV!

Don








]]> DEM DEBATE - HOLY COW tag:blog.donself.com,2008-04-16:c9f22c2f-1798-4443-a2fa-a0e21ef4e23c Don Self 2008-04-16T23:38:06Z 2008-04-16T22:39:00Z
On several occasions tonight, Senator Obama repeatedly mentioned that either we need to achieve "economic equality" in this country or that we now have "economic inequality".   Perhaps the uneducated may have no idea what he means, but if you visit his website and read about his goals, he wants to "equalize" the money in this country.  He doesn't believe that people should be rewarded by their value.  He obviously believes in socialism, so as to increase tax on those willing to work harder or take more risks to give to those either unwilling to work more or unwilling to take risks.  

He also made the statement that "the banks should not have given the loans to those people who wanted the adjustable rate loans.  He absolves the people that took out the loans from personal responsiblity.  He believes it is the government's role to take care of people so that they do not have to do so themselves. 

When the moderator reminded both candidates that when the capital gains tax was reduced in the 90s from 27% to 20%, it resulted in a huge increase in tax revenue due to the investors spending more money on investments, Senator Obama reiterated that we have to "increase the capital gains tax" so as to be able to afford the healthcare changes.   Charles Gibson reiterated the fact that decreasing it increased the bottom line revenue in the 90s and again in 2003 when Bush reduced it from 20% to 15% and asked Senator Obama, a second time, why he would "increase the capital gains tax" since increasing it resulted in a decrease in income to the government while decreasing it did just the opposite.   Obama looked into the camera and said "I'm not sure that the decrease in the capital gains tax was the reason that the economy turned around both times, as it may have been coincidental".   You should have seen the faces of the co-moderators (George Stephanopolis & Charles Gibson) when Obama made such a stupid statement.

When they talked about increasing taxes on the population, Charles played a film with McCain saying that "both democrat candidates want to raise taxes to pay for all their social programs" and Charles then asked both candidates if they were willing to make a "read my lips" pledge to not raise taxes.  Senator Obama said that he only wants to raise taxes on those making somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 a year as he wants to help the middle class.   In the next sentence he says there will be some tax increases on those making $75,000 a year or more.   Hold on here as in the very next sentence he said "But, I do believe in raising payroll taxes".   DUHHHHH.   Payroll taxes are defined as the social security and Medicare taxes that every employee pays and that every employer has to match.  Think about what he's saying when he says that he wants to raise that.  Who pays it?  EVERY EMPLOYEE.   In one breath he says that he doesn't want to raise taxes on those making less than $75,000 a year - but then he says in another: "I do believe in raising payroll taxes".    This is a total conflict and I'm willing to bet that millions of people only half listening even caught it.   I believe that he is banking on the fact that most people do not actually listen to what is said.  They listen to what they want to hear.   Unbelievable!!!!

Before you think that I'm picking on Obama, let's listen to some of the things that Clinton said.  Now, keep in mind that she was asked, twice, about the lies that she has repeated about the "sniper fire" that she was "dodging" on her trip to Bosnia.  She hemhawed and never admitted that she repeatedly had "lied" about what she wrote in her 2004 book or on the dozens of speaking engagements earlier this year.  She said that she had a "lapse" in judgment and "made some errors".  She said that because a candidate is recorded all the time they speak, that there will be times when a candidate makes some errors.   GEEZE.   Her husband was impeached for lying.  She was charged with lying to investigators in 1993 and again in 1995 by the courts.   She repeatedly lied about being under sniper fire on a trip to Bosnia - but then she says "I made some errors that conflicted with the truth".  She then tried to justify it, by saying that the general on site had his troops in full gear and that the President of Bosnia said that it was a dangerous area.  I have a simple question.  If it was dangerous, then what kind of mother takes her TEENAGED DAUGHTER with her into a war zone?   Don't forget that Chelsea was with her.  OK - we know there were school children on the tarmac by the plane in the ceremony, so there was no sniper fire - but then she tried to again mislead us.  wow.

OK - a few other things that she said that we should consider.   As President, she wants to create some new jobs by the government creating alternative energy sources.   I applaud that - but she said that we should be able to create "5 million good union jobs".   UHHH.  Union jobs?   Why does the government need to creat "UNION JOBS"?    Isn't unions one of the big reasons why we pay more for products made here that are of lesser quality?  Isn't the unions the reason we are paying $30,000 for a car that could be sold for $13,000 if they were not paying someone $36 an hour to bolt a bumper onto a frame?   Yeah - I have a problem with that.

Several times, Senator Clinton referred to the economy of the 90s was great and the best we've had in 40 years.  Think about something that she didn't refer to.  Not one of her husband's intiatives ever made it through Congress.  Not one.  How is she taking credit for what a Republican Congress did in the 90s?  It was a Republican Congress that reduced the capital gains tax in the 90s that resulted in an improvement in the economy.  It was a Republican congress that dropped the income tax twice in the 90s that resulted in an excellent economy and she's taking credit for it?

The last one was that she said that she "wants to have the government freeze foreclosures" on the homeowners who made bad decisions.   She wants the government to step in and give people a "do-over"?  What will this do to the banks that have not yet gone under due to the number of people that took out ARM loans on homes and defaulted on them?   Where have those banks reinvested those funds and what will that do to our economy if she and Obama are successful at mandating that the banks cannot recover their own investments?    What's next?   Will either of them pass a law saying that if someone goes to a casino and loses at the Blackjack table that they get a "do-over"?

I am very happy that I read that McCain met with Condoleeza Rice.   I, like millions, are hoping that he asks her to be his VP on the ticket.   I believe that she is one of the most intelligent, most educated, most suitable people in the world to be the Vice President.  I hope he asks her to be on his ticket.

OK - that's enough for tonight.  I will say that I have a newfound respect for those prepping for a colonoscopy.   I haven't been successful at asking Angie to take a marker tomorrow and writing on my backside cheeks the words "BE GENTLE" before I head to the clinic for the colonoscopy.  She says that the vows we took 29 years ago never included having to write on her hubby's derriere.

Don



]]> APRIL 16 - GOOD NEWS FROM DOCTORS tag:blog.donself.com,2008-04-16:71890357-9e0d-468e-9c68-c1bff35fb756 Don Self 2008-04-16T13:59:11Z 2008-04-16T08:29:00Z
Today, I'm going to be starving as I'm on clear liquids only to prep for the screening colonoscopy for tomorrow. 

I was reading the news online this morning and was saddened and angered to see that President Jimmy Carter was meeting with the leader of the Hamas.   I can't believe it.   I thought our country was at war with EVERY terrorist group in the world.  Some may remember that on September 12, 2001, President Bush made an announcement that we will not tolerate terrorism or those that promote or harbor terrorism.   The support for those words was tremendous throughout the country by people in every party and only a liar would say that they didn't agree at the time - 1 day after around 3,000 people were killed by Muslim terrorists.  This is inconceivable to me that a former President of this country would meet with a terrorist leader.   I have respect for Carter's willingness to put himself into harm's way and I have no doubt that he "believes" he is doing good.   It's like many of his other decisions.

We'll be here until next Monday when we head to Oklahoma City. 

]]> HOME IN WHITEHOUSE & A FEW OPINIONATED WORDS OF WISDOM tag:blog.donself.com,2008-04-13:95ecdb9d-f9c6-48bd-bf6e-be76c4cefa11 Don Self 2008-04-16T08:28:48Z 2008-04-13T11:46:00Z
It's Sunday, April 13 and I've spent the weekend working on the hottub, trimming bushes, branches and cleaning up my dad's backyard and Angie and I took Cookie for a walk around the block.  It's been a beautIful weekend with sunshine, a nice breeze and about 65 degrees.  I love this time of year.

We've been working on a flyer for a series of seminars we're going to be doing and in a rough draft, I had something from Proverbs 12:15 that said "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. (KJV)".  I was advised by someone reading it that "we might offend someone" if we have that on the flyer.  I've been giving that alot of thought and I've come to the conclusion that I don't give a dang if I offend someone by quoting the Bible.  In fact, if it offends them that I quote the Bible, then it's best they know that about me from the very beginning instead of after arriving at my seminar.   OK - I'm politically incorrect and I don't care.  I'm in good company, by the way.  There have been alot of people who did not believe in political correctness.  They stood up for what they believed in and they were willing to be politically incorrect to state those beliefs.  A few of them would be Dr. Martin Luther King, Charleton Heston, Ronald Reagan, Gandhi and  Jesus, and the men who signed the Declaration of Independence in our great country.     I'm in good company in being politically incorrect, if being politically incorrect means that we have to forget their is a difference in right and wrong and try to be middle of the road so as to not offend.   There is a right and wrong.  There is light and there is dark and to think otherwise is foolish. 

Perhaps it is the fact that I'm approaching 52, but I've gotten to where I have very little patience for political correctness or those hypocrites who say they believe in freedom, yet want to take my freedoms away.  I have the freedoms given to me by God and the additional ones granted to me by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. 

One of those is the freedom to worship my God without getting permission to do so.  My sons have that right and they were allowed to pray in school (just like yours are - even if some have been too ignorant to teach them that they have that right).    There are some who do not believe we should even talk about God and that's sad.   I was very very impressed this last week while watching the American Idol when I saw the 8 remaining contestants singing a song about Jesus.  Wow!   I know there are some that believe that you shouldn't be allowed to say the name of Jesus on television unless you also mention Allah, Budha, or whatever other beliefs there are.   This country was founded on a belief in God, but there is a minority in this country that believe we should cater to them.  To heck with them.  I am NOT going to hide my belief because they don't agree with it.  If they don't like my country - they can get the heck out of it.    That's like Michelle Obama saying that for the past 25 years, she hasn't been proud of our country when she said "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country".   OUCH!  This is a US Senator's wife saying this?  I have about as much patience for people like that as I have for Tom Cruise who announced many years ago that he wouldn't raise his children in this country.  Why in the world do people who do not like our country or who have not been proud of our country for the past 25 years stayed here?   I'll be glad to donate money to the fund to buy a one way plane ticket for them to leave if they wish.

I have the right to be armed to protect what is mine.   The quote from the 2nd amendment says "prohibits infringement of the right of the people to keep and bear arms".    There are those that want to add words to it.   I read that there are some that believe the writers of the amendment meant to say "right of the people to keep and bear arms while they are in the militia".  THAT IS NOT WHAT IT SAYS.  It says "the people".   Guess what?   You and I are "the people".  It doesn't say "prohibits the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT from infringement of the right...:
  There are some that says the amendment doesn't affect the "states' rights" to infringe upon us.  Uh - when can the state infringe upon what is our national right?   These are the same liberal elitists that believe that we have to have the government protect us from ourselves and that we're too stupid to take care of ourselves.   WORDS MEAN THINGS.   Those words in the amendments and in the constitution were thought out carefully and they chose those words for a purpose.   

So, I have a right to "KEEP" and "BEAR" arms.   Again, the elitists are trying to say that they can restrict what kind of arms.   If we go back to when it was written, there was several kinds of "arms" from pistols to flintlock rifles, so what gives people today the right to say that I cannot own a pistol when the amendment clearly says that I can?   As to "bear arms", what does that mean?  The dictionary has quite a few definitions for the word bear (including Yogi and nouns, but I was looking at verbs), which includes: " To carry from one place to another".   So, the word bear means that I can carry it, per the 2nd amendment.   So - what right does the state have to tell me that I have to take a class and pay a fee to be able to have the right already granted to me by the 2nd amendment?   There is only one reason (other than putting more money into the state coffers) why I see that they want us to be registered to carry it or to have one and that is for the same reason why Hitler did it in in 1938.  Let's look at what happened in 1938:

On Nov. 8, the New York Times reported from Berlin, "Berlin Police Head Announces 'Disarming' of Jews," explaining:The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been "disarmed" with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition.  Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment."

On Nov 10, 1938, Hitler started rounding up every gun owned by a Jewish person.  Finding them was easy.  In 1928, a law was put into effect making it a crime to own, buy or sell a gun without registering it.  10 years later, they had the lists of who owned one, so it was easy to send out troops to get them.  Germany wasn't the only country that required registration of every gun.  So did Czechoslovakia and Poland, so in 1939, when Germany marched in, it was a simple matter for the troops to get the records from the governments and to identify gun owners.   They not only picked up every gun, but they arrested EVERY gun owner as a possible future threat.   DUH!

On October 16, 1991, Suzanna Hupp, D.C. and her parents were in a Luby's restaurant in Killeen, Texas.  Killeen is the home of Fort Hood, so there were probably soldiers and their families eating in the restaurant at the time as well.   George Hennard drove his Ford Pickup through the window of the cafeteria, jumped out and started shooting people with 2 pistols and a rifle.  Dr. Hupp saw a perfect opportunity for a rear head shot to stop George.   He had already killed more than a half dozen people indiscriminately.  She reached into her purse as she normally carried a pistol with her, but at the time, Texas law did not allow people to carry guns into restaurants or public places.  Her gun was in her car outside.   George killed her father and then her mother.  He ended up killing 23 and wounding another 20 people that day.  There were 80 people in the cafeteria when his truck came flying through the window.    Until Virginia Tech a year ago, it was the worst single shooter incident in the country, yet how many people reading this have heard about it?  By the way - how many people would have died had Dr. Hupp had her weapon on her?  How many would have died had anyone else in the cafeteria been carrying a concealed weapon?  We will never know.  And some elitist thinks they can tell me that I do not have the rights of the Constitution to have a weapon on me?  How moronic is that?  It's almost as idiotic, to me, as people who believe that if you outlaw guns that it will make us safer.  How can anyone with an IQ above double digits believe that?

 I have the right of free speech - even though there are millions of morons in this country that would like to take that away from me - in the name of THEIR free speech.  What am I talking about? 

If I do not believe that we should hyphenate the word American, then I'm being insensitive to someone.  I find it humorous that people are calling themself African-American if they are not from Africa.   Word mean things.   In fact, I know two African-Americans and interestingly, both are caucasian and neither are black.  I know alot of black folks, but I do not know more than 2 African-Americans.  By the way, both of them have dual nationality as they have kept their African citizenship and obtained American citizenship.    Why do some feel like they have to identify where their ancestors came to American from?  Everyone came from somewhere, so why is it so important to hyphenate their Americanism?    Should I make everyone refer to me as Irish-Euro-American?  That's not a race.  There are people in those countries that are caucasian, black, latino, oriental, etc...   I agree with Martin Luther King when he said that no one should be entitled to or deprived from anything because of their color, which is contrary to the entitlement programs today, isn't it?   So - I will not celebrate White American month, Black American Month or any color American month and I believe that anyone that does is completely ignoring what Dr. King was trying to accomplish.

I also have a problem with people moving to America and refusing to learn English.  For me to move to Mexico and expect them to have to learn my language is taking arrogance to a new level.   If we are going to take the multiculturalism to it's extreme, then America will not make it another 200 years.  I think we'll be fortunate if we make it another 30 at the rate we are going.

When I heard the speech by Obama last week where he was defending the anti-American and anti-white  beliefs of his pastor, he said something that I have a feeling that 95% of listeners missed.  He said he is looking for a more "equal" world.   If you understand the philosophy that is outlined throughout his website, you realize that he believes in socialism or communism - but not democracy.  I dare anyone to read his website and book and then tell me that he doesn't want to take from those willing to work harder to give to everyone else.  He scares me almost as much as Hillary.  The difference is that Hillary has been upfront about her socialistic views, while Obama hasn't.  Again - read both of their websites and have a calculator handy and start calculating how much the tax rate will have to be if they get what they want.  Also calculate how much we will be giving to the rest of the world - and then decide if the cost is worth it.

Anyway - think about it and don't let anyone convince you that you do not have the rights granted to you by God and our founding fathers.  Stand up for what you believe and don't be ashamed of it.  By the way - if you disagree with me, please tell me and tell me why you disagree.  If you agree - don't be afraid to tell me that also - but beware that if you post it as a comment, then others may see that you are not politically correct also.

Don





]]> APRIL - 1ST 3 WEEKS IN TEXAS tag:blog.donself.com,2008-04-04:044a38c8-86e0-4079-860c-7eb12778394b Don Self 2008-04-09T21:14:54Z 2008-04-04T21:59:00Z APRIL 4 (and April 9)

It's been good to be home and getting to see our sons, daughter-in-law, future daughter-in-law, grandson, dad, friends, neighbors, etc...  I'm constantly amazed at how blessed we are.   We spent several days back in Whitehouse and got caught up on some paperwork, getting to visit with folks, etc...

A few days ago, we headed down to San Antonio to visit with the clinic here and do some training with the staff.  It was good to see them, meet our new receptionist (it's fun to sign in at the window as "R.U.Kiddon" and then watch her face as she calls out for you and realizes what she's saying). 

I also had the pleasure of visiting with a doctor that I've known for alot of years here in San Antonio yesterday for awhile, and it looks like we'll be doing quite a bit of work with her and helping her practice.  Because of size restraints, we'll probably only be able to help her increase about $60K a year instead of the usual $125K, but give her some time and then we'll see what we can do.

Something very puzzling and frustrating occured today.  Gayle (my assistant) called and asked if I was expecting anything from the Secretary of State.  When I asked her what it is, she opened it and informed me that an insurance carrier in Texas is suing a doctor in Texas and me as co-defendents.  

((OK - my attorney advised me to remove any of the specifics about the lawsuit, so I have followed his advice))

Now, I find out that this doc lied to the carrier and that really ticks me off.  That is a very STUPID thing for him to do, as now I'll use the FOI (Freedom of Information) Act to request the CPT codes the doc is billing Medicare, Medicaid and Tri-care.  Once I see what they are paying this doc for, I'll then examine it to see if there are any that I know are on the OIG watchlist and then find out if the doc has certain equipment and he'll be the FIRST one that I ever file a QUI TAM on in federal court.  As the relator, I get 15% of the fine they assess the doctor.  I'll teach that *#$#%$()(**** to lie to the carrier.   That will pay for my legal fees!!!!

You know that I warn docs about billing for things illegally,   That carrier may not know it yet - but only a couple of hundred thousand doctors  in the country know that I advise docs to ALWAYS follow the regs and NEVER bill for anything illegal, unethical or with improper coding.  This doc may learn a lesson about lying that is very costly to him! 

On other subjects, we've had a phenomenal week in helping physicians over the past 5 days.  On top of that, I had an EKG today and it looked ok, but they want me to have a nuclear stress test next week, so I'm getting scheduled for that.  I'm also having a STAR TREK PROCEDURE next week as well (GOING WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE), so I'm scheduled for a screening colonoscopy next Thursday.


Don  (revised on Wednesday April 9 at 9:17pm)


Oh well - on other subjects.  Angie is feeling well.  Other than the stress of this BC crap, I'm feeling great too.  Hmmm - I wonder if I could countersue them for the left arm pain and high blood pressure they are causing me?  Hmmmm.   I'll just take an aspirin and put that on the list of questions I'll ask an attorney.

OK - tomorrow, we head to Houston, for one single reason.  We want to have dinner tomorrow night with one of my favorite clients and his wife (David and Donna Braunreiter).   This will the first time that Angie gets to meet them and vice-versa.

On Sunday - we head back to Whitehouse.  On Monday, I'll call an attorney and get that ball rolling and I also need to find a gastro and schedule a screening colonoscopy.  I'll be 52 this year and don't remember having one before, and even though I don't have any problems, it's best to be safe and get a screening done.   Just like I expect Angie to have her screenings, I need to do the same thing. 

hey folks - let me know if you're reading these and what you think.   I'm so perplexed tonight about this lawsuit garbage, that I don't know if I'm going right or left.           DON

]]> End of March - new blog at http://blog.donself.com tag:blog.donself.com,2008-03-29:0046ac18-4a09-4a9e-a997-3612fe089b18 Don Self 2008-03-29T19:01:40Z 2008-03-29T18:24:00Z
New ideas from that convention. 
1.     We're forming a couple of new entities, companies, LLCs, etc... with 4 partners in it, which will be Keith LaBonte, Brad Nolan, Doug Jorgensen and myself.  That in itself is exciting.   Below, you see Doug in the yellow tie, Keith in the brown jacket and Brad turning back.  A man could not ask for 3 better partners.

 
   
    Doug Jorgensen, D.O., CPC - I've known Doug for many years and have a very high respect for him.  Currently, he has a pain management practice in Manchester, Maine and he spends about 2 months a year, if not more, consulting, giving expert court testimony, authoring books, studies, teaching seminars, serving on boards of the ACOFP, AOA, Maine Osteopathic, etc...  I'm honored and humbled to be working with him as he really knows his stuff, as you'll see in some ideas I'll be discussing in a bit.

    Keith LaBonte is probably the sharpest person I have ever met when it comes to lab, supplies, when to order what tests, what it costs to run each test, how physicians order and perform clinical chemistry tests, etc...  He has been doing this for more than 25 years and he and his wife live in Marietta, Georgia.

   Brad Nolan is the youngest in our group (41) and he and his wife and 3 children live in Charlotte, NC.  Brad is a whiz at diagnostics, identifying what diagnostics a practice needs, evaluating practices and he is starting to get very proficient at teaching coding/reimbursement/PQRI seminars.  He recently spoke in Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe and this last week in Dallas at the AAO convention.

Our plans:   Immediately, we're going to start teaching a series of 6 one-hour seminars on PQRI, what it is, why it is here to stay, how to utilize it, how to use PQRI to increase a primary care physician's annual profits by at LEAST $100,000 a year, and more.   We're looking to start these in early May and attendance on the Webinar will be $100 per call in.  A practice can get all 6 for $499.

Additional plans include starting in May to teach one full day Saturday seminars to physicians in different cities on how to increase their annual profits by a MINIMUM of $75,000.  In fact, attendance at the seminar will be limited to Family Physicians and Internal Medicine (D.O. and M.D.s) and they will be allowed to bring one non physician (such as an office manager, administrator, spouse, etc) with them.  If the physician doesn't show, then their staff will not be permitted to enter.  This is designed for those primary care physicians and we will teach them exactly what we teach when we're performing an $8,000 consult, in that one day.  Any physician at the end of the day that does not believe we just increased their annual income by $75,000 will get a crisp $1,000 bill when they leave.  we are that sure of these, but only physicians in private practice with less than a 40% capitation rate will be permitted to enroll.  The cost for the one day in person seminar will be .....  $1,000.00.   The one person the physician brings is free.

On top of that, we have, LITERALLY, dozens of physicians who have told us in the past 14 days that they are ready for us to do the $8,000 consult.   The way that works is simple.  They pay us $4,000 deposit and send us all of the data we ask for.  We review it and schedule a 2 hour internet/phone teleconference with the doctor and go over their diagnostic equipment.  I work up a 40 plus page report on their fees, codes, charges, diagnostics, etc... and schedule a time to have an internet/phone teleconference to go over that.  They schedule another 2 hour internet/phone teleconference with them going over their lab, what they order, when they order it, what kind of patients they are seeing, what diagnosis they are seeing, what diagnosis requires what tests in the doctor's mind, etc...   Upon the completion of the 3 facets of the consult, if the doctor believes we have increased their annual profits by at least $125,000 - they pay us the other $4,000.  If not - then we return the deposit to them and wish them a happy day.  It's REALLY that simple.

OK - we're in Whitehouse and Angie has spent the last 2 days at the Tyler Quilt show.  Tomorrow, Angie will be at our daughter-in-law's baby shower (we're getting a new grandaughter in May).  Dalton (below) is getting a new baby sister and Nick and Tiffany are very happy about it. 


We'll be here the first part of next week and then we need to go down to San Antonio for a few days so I can spend some time with the 2 mid levels in that practice and visit with our new physician we're adding to the practice.  From there, I want to stop by Houston to see a very good client and his wife (David and Donna Braunreiter) for a bit.  We'll then head back to Whitehouse before the 12th so that Angie can be at our future daughter-in-law's wedding shower. 

The above was taken the day that Joe finally proposed after about 4 years.  They've known each other since the 2nd grade.

OK - I guess the shower belongs to her and our son Joe, but usually showers are attended by the bride and women.  Yep - I'm sexist, but I have read Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.

So - after the shower, we'll mosey on up to Oklahoma City where I have the honor of speaking for 2 hours on PQRI (that's the new Pay For Performance program that is heralding in healthcare reform) at the Oklahoma Ostepathic Convention on the 23rd through 26th.   From there, we head up to Kansas City for a few days.  Then, I'll leave Angie and Cookie there and jump on  a plane and fly to Philadelphia where I'll be speaking on PQRI and Coding at the PA Osteopathic Convention on May 2nd.

In the past week, we've been asked to speak in Pennsylvania at their convention, the California Academy of Osteopathic Family Physician convention in August at Disneyland in California, the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants convention in Marco Island, Florida and more.  Business s better than ever before.  Doctors are really needing help and they've figured out that we are the company that can increase their bottom line by hundreds of thousands and it's only gonna get better, if the Lord is willing.

Till later and make sure you leave your comments and tell me what you think of the new format and content.



    


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